Tag Archives: Regional Vice President

The Ministry of Tourism, Oman successfully conducted the first leg of its multi-city roadshow in Delhi at The Taj Mahal Hotel. Her Excellency Maitha Saif Al Mahrouqim, Undersecretary, Ministry of Tourism, Oman; Sunil VA, Regional Vice President, ISC, Oman Air and Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative – Ministry of Tourism, Oman along with other representatives were present at the roadshow. On the occasion, Mahrouqi said that Oman has witnessed over 31 per cent growth in Indian arrivals since 2014. “In 2017 alone, Oman received 321,161 Indian visitors with a growth of over 7 per cent in just one year. In the first six months of 2018, the country witnessed 15 per cent growth in comparison to the same period last year. Oman is a ideal for every kind of traveller but we are looking to focus immensely on MiCE opportunities from India.” Furthermore, to encourage more travellers to visit the country, Oman has recently announced a new short-term tourist visa at 5 Omani Riyal (OMR) equivalent to approximately Rs 940 to visit the Sultanate for a period of 10 days. This is in addition to the existing e-visa for Oman which is available at 20 OMR with a validity of one month.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has inaugurated the Holiday Inn Express Gurgaon Sector 50, the first Holiday Inn Express hotel in Gurugram. As part of IHG’s partnership with SAMHI for a portfolio of 14 Holiday Inn Express hotels, this property will be the first to open its doors to guests on September 15. Marking this celebration, IHG’s regional leadership team including Kenneth Macpherson, CEO-EMEAA and Pascal Gauvin, MD, IMEA, were present at the ceremony. Holiday Inn Express Gurgaon Sector 50 offers 205 intelligent, design-led, contemporary rooms, providing an efficient environment to guests. Boasting of an excellent location, Holiday Inn Express Gurgaon Sector 50 is strategically situated in a mixed-use complex populated with a shopping mall, restaurants, entertainment and wellness facilities, making it a perfect destination for business travellers as well as leisure seekers. Vivek Bhalla, Regional Vice President – SWA, IHG said, “We are delighted to launch the first Holiday Inn Express hotel as a part of our partnership with SAMHI. Our growth in India is fuelled by the Holiday Inn brand family, and this partnership underscores our commitment to grow our midscale offering in the country. We are confident that Holiday Inn Express Gurgaon Sector 50 will offer an uncompromising and modern guest experience to travellers visiting the city.” Ashish Jakhanwala, MD & CEO, SAMHI added, “The conversion and the rebranding exercise of our existing portfolio to the Holiday Inn Express brand is one of the largest in the hospitality industry. We strongly believe that a combination of strong locations, a vibrant product and the power of the brand Holiday Inn Express, will lead the way for the midscale hotel space in India.”

After launching its new office in New Delhi in partnership with RL Group, Oman Air is now planning to open offices in Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Sunil V.A., Regional Vice President-ISC, Oman Air along with Chetan Gupta, Chairman, RL Group; Varun Mohindra, Head of Sales & Marketing, RL Group and Vijay Bhatia, President, Bird Group were present for the inauguration. “We have 162 flights operating from India, all connect well to the destinations. With our focus on Europe and Europe GCC, we are now planning to sell the east. We are not just dependent on the online network but also looking at the offline too.” said Sunil V.A. Oman is currently focusing to develop MICE segment in 2018 with a launch of its new airport on March 20, 2018.

Wyndham Hotel Group has announced the addition of three new hotels under the Ramada and Ramada Encore brands to its India portfolio. In order to expand the brand across Eurasia, the recent additions at Kumbhalgarh (Rajasthan), Jalandhar (Punjab) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) further strengthen Wyndham Hotel Group’s presence in the northern belt of the country. Wyndham Hotel Group now has 28 operational hotels in India and 36 hotels in the Eurasia region. “India is an integral part of Wyndham Hotel Group’s global growth strategy. The addition of these three hotels will broaden our footprint not only in the country but also in the region. Having enabled greater visibility of the Ramada brand to India’s growing foreign and domestic travellers, we hope to drive additional brand familiarity and increased loyalty this year,” said Deepika Arora, Regional Vice President, Eurasia, Wyndham Hotel Group. Ramada Resort Kumbhalgarh (Rajasthan) opened on December 22, 2016, while Ramada Encore Jalandhar (Punjab) opened on December 23, 2016. The company also opened Ramada Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) on December 26, 2016

Expressing disatisfaction over the Budget ’16, Conrad Clifford, Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific, International Air Transport Association (IATA), said, “The budget had a minimal focus on aviation. We hope the government will do a better job with the National Civil Aviation Policy. While the NCAP is a step in the right direction, there are areas of concern, especially where it adds costs to the industry or where it deviates from well-established global standards. We hope the government will address three priority areas – retract the 2 per cent Regional Connectivity Fund levy, abandon the plan to auction traffic rights, and allow AERA to perform its functions independently by not enshrining any ‘Till’ for airport charges in the Policy document.”